Impact of Iran deal on oil remains uncertain – finance minister

The impact of Iranian oil expected to come onto the world markets after it signs the agreement on its nuclear program is still difficult to forecast, as there are too many other global factors, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.

Injecting new oil into world markets certainly could impact
prices, said Siluanov. But the price depends on the global
economy at large. Such macroeconomic factors like big crude
consumers’ feelings also have their impact on the price, he
added.

A further fall in oil prices would result in a recession in US
shale; it wouldn’t be cost-effective to invest in shale, that’s
how the market self-regulates, according to Siluanov.

“We’ll be analyzing the situation, Russia has enough reserves
and won’t suffer much from an oil price decline while it has
already had such an experience two years ago,” Siluanov
said, adding he doesn’t think such a situation could happen
again.

Oil prices almost halved in the last six months of 2014, with
Brent crude diving below $45 for the first time since 2009.
However, crude prices have rallied strongly to around $60 per
barrel since the beginning of 2015.

On Thursday Brent futures for July were up $1.76, trading at
$58.81 a barrel at 19:10 MSK. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was
up $1.25, at $52.90 a barrel.